Lawn tractor recs? My buddy doesn't want a zero turn...

A Deere would be great for that.

Craftsman is also a good tractor. Mine is 12 years and still like new.

I have a Craftsman Pro series 54 inch that runs very well. I now about 3 acres with it and brush hog 10 acres with a John Deere 4610.

Johnny... Who are you with?

If you are mowing manicured grass a John Deere is fine. However I wouldn't use one if you're going to be dealing with unlevel ground and lots of tree roots. The commercial zero turn mower my parents have for the lake house requires a good bit of maintenance bc of the rough use it goes through.

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Craftsman are ok but, not the same quality they once were. I don't care what you do, you will have carburetor issues. For my money, and residential purposes, I'm getting a Husqvarna. The 48 inch cut, 24 HP hydrostatic v twin is one hell of a tractor.

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I am no expert on this, but I had a Craftsman and my buddy had the Husqvarna, we both had the same 24Hp V twin with hydrostatic drive and every other part on the two tractor looked totally interchangeable, it is my guess they were made in the same plant and just painted different colors.

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Craftsman is also a good tractor. Mine is 12 years and still like new.

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Yep.....I had one for about 10 yrs and then sold it when I moved; I have a lot smaller yard so I didn't need it.

For acre anything decent.

Craftsman made by mtd or husqvarna depends on unit.

I sell both husqvarna and mtd (Columbia & cub cadet depends on the ace location).

I have one store in strong husqvarna market and 3 stores that cub cadet is demanded more.

Drawback of husqvarna some units went from tuff torque hydro to less expensive CVT like general transmission LINK /.
Not a big fan of this.
If the transmission is black on the rear axle is a general composite transmission. It's acts like hydro but it's old style CVT made out of compsite gearing. Their fab deck line slightly more expensive and I get more bang for the buck out of Cub Cadet.

Cub went from hydro gear to tuff torque on the riders and I really like that move. They offer a fabricated deck around $2,500 to $2,700 which having locations in the Midwest I get a lot of older guys that like those over residential zero turns.

2 locations I do offer compact tractors along with parts and service which is great money if you do it right. If you do it wrong you can lose your tail.

I would love to open a location in Baton Rouge but cub cadet and husqvarna has dealers around the area. In the Midwest you have snow blowers that keep you going during the winter. Baton Rouge needs a dedicated residential sales and service center. The commercial side flooded with dealers. Then it's cost of labor, land, and working with Ace on distribution who is my distributor on non outdoor power products.
Then I would have to find new vendors for plants and nursery side of the business. In the Midwest I have good partners and staff that knowledgeable on the nursery side of the business for their markets.

To make money in the BR market and have a nice store front you have to have a nursery mixed with residential outdoor power to do it right.

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The John Deere's with the Kawasaki engines are extremely good.

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I agree with this. had a big box store Deere (actually branded Scotts) for 14 years, got a new X304 and it is a far superior product. Feels like a real tractor!